Care home residents enjoy a hoot of an afternoon

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‘Boris Johnson’ and ‘Nigel Farage’ were two of the owls that visited residents and their families at Whitgift House.

More than 50 residents gathered to hear interesting facts about the birds such as how a grouping of owls is called a parliament, that owls are misleadingly heavy and the colour of their eyes determines if they are nocturnal.

The owls, each named after a member of parliament in keeping with their collective term, were held and stroked by residents whilst some of the birds made a special visit to the rooms of others who were unable to make it to the home’s communal lounge.

Their true beauty was displayed when a Mexican striped owl named Mo Mowlam flew from one handler to the other, displaying his amazing wings in a flash of brilliance across Whitgift House’s community room. One resident commented, “I had no idea how tame owls are, they are such beautiful creatures.”

Old Palace student Saira Khan who volunteered at the ‘Owls About Town’ event said: “It feels great helping at Whitgift House. The activities are varied and interesting; one of my favourite things to do is talk to the residents about their lives.” Philomena Kavanagh, Head of Care at Whitgift House, said: “We always put together a fun, varied and interesting programme of activities for our residents so we were delighted to welcome the Owls About Town team in to the home. It was clear that the owls enjoyed soaking up the attention as much as our residents enjoyed having them here.”

The event was run by Owls About Town, a dedicated organisation who care for rescued owls, either rearing them from an owlet, or caring for those who have been a victim of animal cruelty because people are sadly unaware of the correct way to care for the birds and that they can live for up to 50 years.